Not sure if I would actually consider "Shiroi Chou no Samba" (Butterfly Samba) a samba, but this January 1970 single by the late Kayoko Moriyama（森山加代子）is a happily bouncy kayo kyoku about finding Mr. Right and holding onto him for dear life. Written by Yu Aku（阿久悠）and composed by Katsuo Inoue（井上かつお）with arrangement by Makoto Kawaguchi（川口真）, it's got some nice and tender horns along with that familiar early 1970s beefy bass and shimmering strings.
"Shiroi Chou no Samba" not only hit No. 1 for Moriyama, but it also became the legendary Aku's first No. 1 single in his career, selling near half a million records. Its fame also came about for the rapid-fire delivery of the lyrics by the singer. The big hit was also responsible for Moriyama getting the invitation for her 4th and final appearance on NHK's Kohaku Utagassen at the end of 1970, her first appearance in eight years following her first three between 1960 and 1962. You can also check out Moriyama's debut release all the way back in 1960, "Tsukikage no Napoli"（月影のナポリ）.
The song also got its share of covers over the decades. One was recorded as a funky number by Morning Musume（モーニング娘。）for their November 2008 album "COVER YOU". That album peaked at No. 27.
Several months later, Hitomi Shimatani（島谷ひとみ）recorded a light synthpop version of "Shiroi Chou no Samba" for her own album of covers titled "BEST & COVERS" in July 2009. It hit No. 12 on Oricon.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Feel free to provide any comments (pro or con). Just be civil about it.